20200808 GROWING IN FAITH IN GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
08 August, 2020, Saturday, 18th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Habakkuk 1:12-2:4 © |
If the vision comes slowly, wait: it will come without fail
Are not you, from ancient times the Lord,
my God, my Holy One, who never dies?
O Lord, you have made this people an instrument of justice,
set it firm as a rock in order to punish.
Your eyes are too pure to rest on wickedness,
you cannot look on at tyranny.
Why do you look on while men are treacherous,
and stay silent while the evil man swallows a better man than he?
You treat mankind like fishes in the sea,
like creeping, masterless things.
A people, these, who catch all on their hook,
who draw them with their net,
in their dragnet gather them,
and so, triumphantly, rejoice.
At this, they offer a sacrifice to their net,
and burn incense to their dragnet,
for providing them with luxury
and lavish food.
Are they then to empty their net unceasingly,
slaughtering nations without pity?
I will stand on my watchtower,
and take up my post on my battlements,
watching to see what he will say to me,
what answer he will make to my complaints.
Then the Lord answered and said,
‘Write the vision down,
inscribe it on tablets
to be easily read,
since this vision is for its own time only:
eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive;
if it comes slowly, wait,
for come it will, without fail.
‘See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights,
but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 9A(9):8-13 © |
You will never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.
The Lord sits enthroned for ever.
He has set up his throne for judgement;
he will judge the world with justice,
he will judge the peoples with his truth.
You will never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.
For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,
a stronghold in times of distress.
Those who know your name will trust you;
you will never forsake those who seek you.
You will never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.
Sing psalms to the Lord who dwells in Zion.
Proclaim his mighty works among the peoples,
for the Avenger of blood has remembered them,
has not forgotten the cry of the poor.
You will never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ep1:17,18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 17:14-20 © |
If your faith were the size of a mustard seed, the mountain would move
A man came up to Jesus and went down on his knees before him. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘take pity on my son: he is a lunatic and in a wretched state; he is always falling into the fire or into the water. I took him to your disciples and they were unable to cure him.’ ‘Faithless and perverse generation!’ Jesus said in reply ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ And when Jesus rebuked it the devil came out of the boy who was cured from that moment.
Then the disciples came privately to Jesus. ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ they asked. He answered, ‘Because you have little faith. I tell you solemnly, if your faith were the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move; nothing would be impossible for you.’
GROWING IN FAITH IN GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ HABAKKUK 1:12-2:4; MATTHEW 17:14-20 ]
In the first reading from the prophet Habakkuk, we hear the prophet crying out for justice from God. There was evil, oppression and injustices within the country. However, they were also facing attacks from the Babylonians who were growing in military power. They were as cruel as their former enemies, the Assyrians. After conquering the Assyrians, the Babylonians continued to plunder Judah. The question that Habakkuk asked was of justice. How could God, who used the Babylonians to punish Assyria, the former enemies of Israel, also allow them to continue to inflict sufferings on Judah? Even though the prophet admitted the people of Judah were unfaithful and evil themselves, he was unable to comprehend how God could allow a greater evil, namely, the Babylonians to punish Judah who was much less evil compared to them. In other words, how could a God of justice and righteousness allow evil to overcome another evil? “Are not you, from ancient times Lord, my God, my Holy One, who never dies? Lord, you have made this people an instrument of justice, set it firm as a rock in order to punish. Why do you look on while men are treacherous, and stay silent while the evil man swallows a better man than he?”
This, too, is our question as well. We are puzzled over the apparent triumph of wicked and unjust people in the world, whether in business or politics. We cannot understand why God, whose “eyes are too pure to rest on wickedness” or “look on at tyranny” would allow more evil people to oppress the lesser evil people. When we see the wicked triumph, we cannot but resent God. Indeed, this is always the struggle of those who are suffering unjustly, or even justly, when they feel they are punished more than they deserved. We feel that God is not fair. Therefore, some have given up faith in God because they cannot understand the mystery of evil. They think that because there is no justice in this world, there is no reason to believe in a God who cares for us. We might as well manage our own lives, and take revenge against our enemies to protect ourselves.
God’s response to Habakkuk was clear. Evil would be punished accordingly. “Wine is treacherous; the arrogant do not endure. They open their throats wide as Sheol; like Death, they never have enough.” (Hab 2:5) Indeed, those who commit evil, just like Judah, would be punished, but those the Lord used as a rod to punish others would also be punished for the crimes they committed. So whilst the Assyrians were used as the rod to chastise Israel, the Babylonians were sent to punish Assyria in return. However, the Babylonians after punishing Judah would also be punished by Persia. God permits evil to punish evil. Indeed, this is the price of sin. The punishment for sin is to suffer not just the consequences of sin but the punishment that comes from our sins. It is not the direct work of God but God allows evil to destroy itself.
However, they must be patient for justice to be done. He said, “Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read, since this vision is for its own time only: eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive; if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.” God assured Habakkuk that justice would be dealt with at the appropriate time. God knew when to punish the Babylonians for their pride and arrogance. They have to be patient and wait for the unfolding of the judgement of God against them. Instead of being rash and impatient, seeking revenge and taking things into our own hands, we are asked to trust in God’s wisdom and wait for His time. As St Paul said, “Leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'” (Rom 12:19) Like Jesus who commended Himself and His mission to the Heavenly Father, we must do likewise and wait for Him to act. By His death, God demonstrated His power over death in raising Him from the dead, destroying the fear of death forever which is the cause of sin. (Rom 5:12)
In the meantime, we must have faith in God’s divine wisdom, plan and justice. “See, how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights, but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.” It is faith in Him and in His wisdom that we would be saved. The author of Hebrews makes inference to this text when encouraging the Christians under persecution. “For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. “‘For yet in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay; but my righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.’ But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.” (Heb 10:36-39) St Paul also cited this important phrase that the righteous will live by faith. (cf Gal 3:11; Rom 1:17) Only those who have faith can endure to the end. Without faith, we will give up not just on God but on ourselves.
In the gospel, Jesus teaches us that this faith must grow in strength. He was coming down from the Mount Tabor after a beautiful experience with His Father. Peter, James and John witnessed it as well. But faith, as today’s story seeks to remind us, is not just about building three tents to worship Him and remain in His presence. On the contrary, a religious encounter or experience is to prepare us for greater challenges ahead of us. That was why the Lord told the disciples after the Transfiguration Experience, that the Son of Man would have to suffer at the hands of evil men before He was raised from the dead. Of course, they did not fully understand Him, thinking that he was referring perhaps to John the Baptist.
Upon coming down from the Mountain, there and behold, their faith was challenged into action. Indeed, active faith is not just a sentimental relationship with God but it means taking up the challenge of daily life and being tested in concrete life situations. This was so in the case of the father who presented the predicament of his epileptic son who was a danger not just to himself but to others. But His disciples were unable to deliver him from the evil spirit. They did not have sufficient faith to cast out the demon.
Jesus was in grief when He realized how weak the faith of the disciples was. He exclaimed, “Faithless and perverse generation! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you?” So immediately, with a stern and authoritative voice, He said “Bring him here to me.” When Jesus rebuked the devil, he came out of the boy who was cured from that moment. A weak faith cannot help us to do wonders or partake in the Lord’s mission and ministry. It was a lesson to the disciples that they must first strengthen their faith in God before they can undertake the same ministry of healing and deliverance as He did. Only faith is required. “The disciples came privately to Jesus, “Why were we unable to cast it out?” He answered, “Because you have little faith. I tell you solemnly, if your faith were the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it would move; nothing would be impossible for you.”
What is admirable about the faith of the father of the boy was that he continued to have faith in Jesus even when His apostles failed. Many Catholics have left the Church because of the scandals committed by the religious leaders and priests. If our faith is founded on Christ, we should not allow ourselves to be affected by the weaknesses and sins of religious leaders because our faith is found in Christ. Indeed, he acknowledged Jesus as “Lord” instead of merely calling Him, “master.” He pleaded with Him for divine mercy and divine intervention. “Lord, take pity on my son: he is a lunatic and in a wretched state; he is always falling into the fire or into the water.” Let us too continue to place our trust in the Lord.
How then can we grow in faith? We must have the faith of the father even though it was just a mustard seed. He said, “I believe, help me in my unbelief.” We must acknowledge that we want to believe but our faith is weak. Only consciousness of our weak faith will spur us to strengthen our faith more and more so that we can withstand the trials of life. Unfortunately, many of us know that our faith is weak, others are presumptuous in thinking they are very strong in their faith, and so do nothing to enrich or strengthen it.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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